


Home Alone

by orphan_account



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 5+1, Bonding, Home Alone, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Natasha isn't heartless, No Slash, Tony & Natasha friendship - Freeform, Tony can be crazy fun, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-05-27
Packaged: 2018-05-24 15:30:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6158199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>5 times Natasha and Tony are home alone, and the 1 time they aren't. </p><p>(Or the one where it starts nice, and then gets sadder and sadder until you don't know what to do with your melted feels.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Tony never intended to become even somewhat friends with Natasha. But it happened. They slowly became tentative friends over battle banter and threats of disembowelment. Natasha and Tony were alike in ways they hadn't known. And it was an interesting relationship, if anything.

The first time the two were left home alone, it was right after one of the most exhausting battles the team had had since Loki's first attack. Strange blob creatures that latched on to everything and absorbed any attack had finally been taken down by Steve cutting them into tiny pieces with his shield while Tony held him above the blobs. 

Natasha was exhausted and just wanted to sleep, but her stomach growled, and she moped her way into the kitchen. She stopped in the doorway, watching the spectacle in front of her. Tony Stark was swaying to the beat of ACDC while he cracked eggs into a huge mixing bowl and beat them with a fork. Or tried to, at least. 

He kept getting egg shells in the bowl, and the fork wasn't doing much good, as the clueless genius simply smacked the yolks once and decided that that was good enough. No matter how tired she was, Natasha couldn't take it. "Mute."

"Don't turn off my music," Tony said without even turning around. 

"Stark, what are you trying to do?" 

"Make a cake. For Rhodey. His birthday's tomorrow." Natasha narrowed her eyes, but Tony didn't look at her. 

"Why do you have 10 eggs?" She asked, leaning over Tony's shoulder. 

"Damn. Hey Jarv, how many eggs was it supposed to be?"

"Six, sir." Natasha rolled her eyes. Tony just shrugged. 

"Jarvis, adjust the recipe so that is can have 10 eggs and still taste good."

"Yes, sir. The next step is to beat the eggs," Jarvis replied, sounding slightly amused. 

"I already did." Tony sounded confused, like he was surprised that whacking the yolks with a spoon wasn't sufficient.

"Oh my god Tony. Give me the fork. Jarvis, please put the recipe on the tablet and play some instrumentals. Quietly, please."

Tony sat at the counter and pouted as the soothing sound of violins filled the air. He picked up the tablet lying next to him and looked over the recipe while Natasha began to rhythmically beat the eggs. 

"Did you get anything else done Tony?"

"Naw, I just wanted to start with the eggs." Natasha sighed and set the fork down as some quiet piano kicked in. "Now add flour."

They worked together like that for a while, with Natasha doing all the measuring and mixing while Tony said the next ingrediants to add. Soon enough, it was time to put the cake in the oven. Jarvis turned it to the right temperature, and Natasha joined Tony at the counter. 

"Tea?" Natasha lifted her head and raised an eyebrow at Tony, noticing the steaming cup that he was holding. When had he made tea? Nevertheless, she accepted, nodding her thanks and sipping slowly at the sweet liquid while Tony drank his coffee. 

"Where's everyone else?" She asked quietly. Tony shrugged, and Jarvis answered for him. 

"Mr. Barton is at SHIELD headquarters going over the mission with Captain Rogers and Director Fury. Dr. Banner is at a yoga class, and Mr. Odinson went back to Asgard." Natasha hummed in thought. 

"Thanks for the help," Tony said, grinning widely at her. Natasha smirked in reply. 

"The tea has convinced me not to tell everyone that the great Tony Stark can't bake a cake." Tony just shrugged again and smiled into his mug of coffee. 

"Your help has convinced me to not tell the team that the fearsome Black Widow can bake a cake."

"Touche."


	2. The Second Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony can't sleep, and neither can Natasha. The rest of the team are away, because the plot deems it so.

Tony hummed softly as he worked, molding the two red plates of his armor together. He had turned off his music to focus more on a project for SHIELD, and never turned it back on. He paused in his welding to inquire his AI to the other Avenger's whereabouts, because he didn't recall seeing them reenter the tower after leaving that afternoon. 

"Ms. Romanoff is sleeping, Mr. Barton is spending the night at SHIELD HQ after a mission, Dr. Banner is away on a scientific retreat, and Mr. Rogers is staying the night at the nursing home, visiting Mrs. Peggy Carter." Tony hmphed to himself before returning to his work.

Just as he pulled off his welding goggles and stepped back to admire his work, Tony heard a soft knocking on the glass door. He turned and saw a dishevled looking Black Widow holding two cups of some steaming thing, blinking tiredly. "Let her in, Jarv."

Natasha stepped silently into the lab and handed Tony one of the cups. They both took a sip of the tea inside and sighed. Tony set down the mug and gestured to the worn couch in the corner. "You're welcome to hang out down here." 

Tasha smiled and vouched to perch on the workbench next to where Tony was working. The engineer shrugged and pulled down his welding goggles once more, fixing an area he had previously missed. 

Every once in a while, Natasha would prompt Tony to drink some of his tea before it went cold, and Tony would always remind Tasha that she could always go watch TV or something. The rest of the night, the two stayed like that. Natasha played some of her music, and got up to stretch ocasionally. Around 4:00, she left the lab and brought back some toast for the both of them, and Tony took a break to eat. 

About half an hour after eating, the Black Widow yawned. Tony looked at her pointedly, and she just rolled her eyes. But she pattered her way over to the worn out couch and laid down. Tony threw a blanket at her before returning to his work more quietly than before. 

Natsha drifted to sleep with the sound of violins and soft humming. Tony never did sleep, and Natasha knew that as soon as she woke up at 7:00 a.m. She dragged Tony up out of his lab, surprised to find that no one was up yet. Usualy Steve or Bruce was, but today was a lazy Sunday, after all. 

Tony collased on the couch. Jarivs turned on the TV to one of the spy's favorite movies, and Natasha delicately curled up next to the exhausted billionaire, softly stroking his hair until Tony fell asleep. The TV played softly in the background, and Natasha felt hereself sucumbing to the relaxing background noise and the feeling of a certain superhero's surprisingly soft hair against her slender fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter may get a little more depressing, just a warning. Please comment what you thought, or just leave some kudos. I'm sorry for any mistakes, and just a quick disclaimer: I'm not Stan Lee. I own nothing except my clothes. And computer. And bed. And some food. And stuff. But you get the idea. 
> 
> Peace, my baby bucketeers!


	3. The Third Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha and Tony are both injured on a mission, and it's raining. Think about it. It's raining. And the rain makes everything worse.
> 
> (Inspired by 'Days like this' by niewypowiedziane, found on fanfiction.net. It's a great fanfic, please check it out. And also, I forgot to mention this: Chapter 1 was also lightly inspired by that fic, so some credit goes to niewypowiedziane for that and this!)

Tony lay on the couch, the TV playing softly in the background. Natasha was curled up in the armchair, holding herself fragily so as not to disturb her own injuries. Steve, Bruce, Clint, and Thor had gone to the debriefing without the two, for obvious reasons. 

Tony holding his left leg gingerly and clutching his ribs should be clue enough. Maybe Natasha's dislocated shoulder and snapped fingers are enough. 

And if that wasn't enough, the constant ache in Tony's chest was. The rain pounding againsts the glass irritated everything. The arc reactor shone angrily, protesting the strain. Tony breathed carefully. Broken ribs and an arc reactor aren't a good combination on a rainy day. He almost couldn't breathe. 

Natasha remained grounded as well, reluctant to get up. It definitely asn't the worst she had experienced, but it was pretty damn terrible. The pain of all of her previously dislocated joints and broken limbs reminded her of nearly every mission ever taken by the Black Widow. And so came the memories. 

There they sat, vaguely paying attention to the TV, but mainly focused on the rain. Tony sat in pain, nearly unable to move, as his heart pounded and his leg throbbed. Natasha curled up carefully, lost in her mind and the aches of her entire being.

She shook herself out of her mind, and glanced at the shivering genius. She grimaced in sympathy and frowned as Tony let out a small groan as he shifted and disturbed his ribs. Natasha made to grab her freshly brewed tea, but had to stop and witch hands when she remembered her busted fingers. 

Hours past, and the two teamates remained in he same position. The other Avengers still weren't back from debriefing, so there was no one to keep them entertained. Not that they minded, really. Tony could hardly focus because of the pain, and Natasha was too distracted by recapping the battle in her head, thinking about where it all went wrong. 

The sky steadily got darker, and Tony wasn't about to get up anytime soon. At 7:13, JARVIS spoke soflty. "Sir, there is an incoming call from Dr. Banner." Tony opened his eyes sleepily and waved his hand around. 

"Answer please, Jarv. Hello?"

"Hi Tony. It's Bruce. We just wanted to check in on you two. How are you doing?" 

"I'm fine. Natasha's alright. Don't hurry back." 

"Ok. This is taking a while. Fury said that you both had better be back in the field soon, or heads will roll."

Natasha managed a quiet chuckle. "Thanks, Bruce. Take your time, no rush." 

"Alright. See you in a couple hours, at the most."

"Bye," Tony mumbled. The call was cut, and the room was silent again, save for the dull mutter of the TV. 

"Go to sleep, Tony," Natasha said quietly, assesing the engineer's dropping eyes and relaxed posture. 

"Only if you do." Natasha rolled her eyes, but agreed, and JARVIS dimmed the lights and turned down the TV even more. The assasain curled up even more, and pulled her blanket even tighter. But she didn't sleep. And judging by the uneven breathing and wheezes coming from Tony, she guessed that he wasn't either. And so they remained there. 

If Tony noticed that Natasha would breathe faster when lightning struck, he didn't say anything. If Natasha noticed that everytime Tony opened his eyes, he would sigh with relief, as if realizing that whatever terror he'd seeen was just a memory, she remained silent. 

By the time the team got back, around 9:00, Natasha and Tony had both finally drifted off. The next day, when the rain had stopped and they got new doses of painkillers and were more alert, Steve asked what they had done while everyone else was away. 

Natasha glanced at Tony, unsure of what to say. "We watched TV," Tony replied cooly, wincing from his spot one the couch. He didn't mention that they were in too much pain to watch the TV, and that they didn't really sleep, and that they had suffered from nightmares that they couldn't do anythin about. None of that needed to be said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any typos, thanks for reading, you know the drill. Sorry I haven't updated in a while!
> 
> Peace, my bucketeers.


	4. The Third Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony gets sick and Natasha is tired.

With every cough, Tony could feel his reactor ache. With every sniff, his throat was set on fire. Being sick sucked, but being sick and being Tony Stark was even worse. 

Tony had come down with his cold right before the team as scheduled to have a team building day. At least he got to skip that. On the other hand, he was banned from his lab (who did these people think they were?) and Natasha was assigned to take care of him. 

Now the two of them were curled up on separate ends of the couch watching Saving Private Ryan and drinking tea. Natasha was dead on her feet, which was why she was assigned to stay home. They both needed rest. The assassin glanced away from the screen to check on the engineer, and found him fast asleep, curled up around his arc reactor. 

Natasha smiled sadly at his slumbering form, and quietly asked JARVIS to turn down the volume. Just when the movie was nearing the end, Natasha felt herself drifting off to sleep. She woke up curled up next to Tony. She quickly sprung back, careful not to wake the genius. She breathed slowly, and looked at the cloudy sky. The credits were ending, and as the last disclaimer rolled past, the screen powered down.

The spy looked out the clear class window, watching the slowly darkening sky. The team would be back soon. Tony would want to be wakened up before then. In a rare moment of complete drunkenness and uncaring, Tony had laughed bitterly. " 'Starks aren't weak, we man the hell up'," he had said. Natasha had understood, and they knocked back another shot.

Tony muttered in his sleep, grasping a pillow to make up for the loss of Natasha's body warmth. Her heart groaned at the slumbering billionaire. She had misjudged him. Greatly. He had offered up so much to her and the team. She would never be able to fully repay him.

Lost in her thoughts, Natasha almost didn't notice when Jarvis put up a holographic display of Tony's vitals, showing that he was greatly improved from earlier in the week, when he had first gotten sick. Soon after Natasha shut down the display, a quiet alert sounded. The spy was reluctant to get out of her cocoon of blankets, but she got up, telling Jarvis to turn off the alarm.

She shook Tony awake. "Tasha?" He mumbled sleepily, his voice thick.

"We have to assemble, Tony. Do you want to go or stay here?" Tony immediately rose.

"I'm coming."

"Suit up." 

In his sleepy stupor, Tony let himself go a bit. "Thanks, Tash."

Natasha was surprised when she had to blink back sudden tears as Tony wrapped his arms around her and patted her on the back. She returned the hug and gently extracted herself from the engineer's embrace. Tony stumbled out of the room, stopping in the doorway to turn around and smile (genuinely) at Natasha.

"Suit up," he repeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry for any mistakes. So far, I'm actually not that happy with how this story has turned out. Please tell me what you think! I do have a good plan for the ending, though. 
> 
> Sorry I haven't been updating recently, but I've been pretty busy. Thanks again!
> 
> Peace out bucketeers!


	5. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE. DUH.

Super sorry for not updating lately, but I've been pretty busy. For this story, I have a chapter in the works, and it should be out by Monday at the latest. 

BTW, 

HAVE YOU SEEN CIVIL WAR? I SAW IT YESTERDAY AND I'M STILL FANGIRLING. I WON'T GIVE AWAY ANY SPOILERS, BUT IT WAS PERFECTION. BLACK PANTHER AND SPIDERMAN FIT IN PERFECTLY, THE HUMOR WAS SPOT ON, EVERYONE WAS BAD ASS, AND THE FIGHT SCENES WERE SERIOUSLY PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!

I highly recommend this movie to legit everyone. It was all around perfect. Everything was explained, and it came together so perfectly. Anyway, just wanted to fangirl and tell y'all that an update it coming! Fear not!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO EVERYONE!!!

-mismatchedbucket


	6. The Last Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ....staring blankly at nothing...

The Avengers were split up. Again. Steve and Clint were debriefing at SHIELD HQ, Thor was in Asgard, and Bruce was locked in his lab. Tony and Natasha just sat in the living room, staring blankly at nothing.

_They had lost someone._

Tony sighed and curled up into a ball, huddled under mounds of blankets. 

_It was his fault._

Natasha shook her head, blinking slowly, every thought possible running through her head.

_It was **her** fault. _

They both sat, still as stone, for who knows how long.

_It was both of them._

Tony was done wallowing in self-hatred. He moved a couple inches closer to Natasha, keeping an open invitation. Natasha RSVP-ed immediately, curling into Tony's side.  She buried her face in her blanket, and Tony dipped his hand into her hair, slowly running his hand through her locks. 

It was comfort, and nothing else. And when JARVIS softly alerted the pair that the Cap and Clint were on their way up, Natasha pulled away, dragging blankets behind her. Tony retreated to the lab, and that moment was forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Finally got this posted! So sorry for the terrible delay. I know it's short, but I've been super busy with classes and stuff, so...yeah. I hope you enjoyed this, and I promise that I will have the last chapter posted by this weekend. Thanks for reading, and sorry for any mistakes!
> 
> Peace, bucketeering fam


	7. +1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Natasha have been home alone (with only each other) a lot. This is where that ends.

Natasha was lost. She wandered around the tower without purpose. Sometimes she would venture to the lab, only to find Bruce trying to find inspiration. Alone. And then she would go back upstairs and watch TV until she couldn't take it anymore. After that, she might access Tony's private lab (they had come so far: from distrust to complete faith) where she would sit on that old, worn, wooden bench and watch Dummy clean up whatever was left.

Because Tony couldn't do that.

She saw him, sometimes, in dreams, in pictures, in buildings. She looked through his old documents and inventions, and thought, 'That's Tony Stark.'

The other Avengers did the same, mostly. They wandered around, occasionally running into each other. If that happened, they would mumble responses to tired questions and then retreat to their rooms.

It wasn't the same.

Clint was as quiet as when he'd first come to live in the tower. Steve spent as much time as he could out of the tower, constantly going on runs, or exploring the world with the list of "Must See Things" Tony had given him. Bruce didn't experiment anymore. There was no one to bounce ideas off, besides JARVIS. But for all the personality that that AI had, he wasn't Tony. Thor didn't boom anymore. He didn't laugh as loudly. He understood grief, and he understood boundaries.

The tower just...died.

Because the life wasn't there. For all of Tony's bragging and boasting, he was right. He  _was_ the life of the party. And without him around, the party was dead. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! I really enjoyed writing this, and I hope you all enjoyed it as well. When I wrote this final chapter, I was thinking about that line in the Avengers: "I'm bringing the party to you," said by who other than Tony Stark. 
> 
> Just FYI. Ya know, Natasha was all like "You and I need to work on your definition of party"? I was thinking about that. Cause this story was about them. Ya know? Whatever. :)
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading, sorry for any typos, and watch out for any other of my stories!
> 
> Peace and thanks from the bucket master!

**Author's Note:**

> So...yeah. Hope y'all enjoyed! I've had this planned out for a while, and I' m glad to finally be posting it. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Peace out, bucketeers.


End file.
